That Prickling Feeling
by Nevermore's Shadow
Summary: After a night out on the town, Korra admits to herself that she may not just be looking at Asami as a friend any longer. (Korrasami, shortfic)
1. Prickle

**Author's Note: It's been a while since I've written any fanfiction, but here is my return. Is it a triumphant one? Well, that's for you to decide.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Korra or any of the related names.**

_Dear Diary,_

_Asami told me that sometimes when she's feeling overwhelmed she pulls out a bit of paper and a pen and starts writing her thoughts down, just in an effort to try to collect them. So... here I am, trying to sort things out. Being the Avatar hasn't exactly given me a lot of free time, and as much as Tenzin insists meditating will help me relax and focus, there is still way too much buzzing around in my head like an angry buzzard wasp, just waiting to sting me at the worst possible moment. And believe me, you don't want to get stung by a buzzard wasp. Well, I suppose you wouldn't mind, you're just a piece of paper. Am I supposed to be writing to a piece of paper, or myself? Never mind._

_I think Tenzin forgets that, in addition to being the Avatar, I am a teenage girl who likes to get out and have fun from time to time. I can see the furrowed brow, looking at me disapprovingly whenever I head out for an afternoon with Bolin and Mako. I swear his beard gets pointier the more irritated he gets, and that vein on his temple can't stand out any further and still be healthy. I guess all that meditating hasn't done you as much good as you'd like to have us all believe, eh, Tenzin?_

_Anyway, that's not the point I was going to make here. I suppose I'm beating around the bush because I feel awkward even writing, in a book no one else is going to read, what I've really been thinking about lately. It all started last week, when Asami rescued me from an impressively dull lesson in airbending culture (with all that I've heard about Avatar Aang, there's no way that all of these gurus were as boring as Tenzin makes them seem). We rode around town on her motorcycle for a while. I hope she'll teach me how to drive it soon. Whenever I ask her about driving lessons, particularly on her bike, she looks at me like I just asked if I could kick a baby into Yue Bay, though she usually softens and says "Someday, young avatar, when you have proven yourself worthy." in her best serious guru voice before breaking into a laugh. This is where everything started to go downhill on this particular day. When she started laughing, I felt a bit of a prickle on the back of my neck. Not a bad one, just something I was barely aware of, but as the day went on, that prickle grew._

_Our first stop was a clothing shop. Yes, I know, how cliche, two girls going out clothing shopping. Asami had an important business meeting the next day and wanted me to help her find new clothes to wear. With each outfit she put on, I felt that prickle seeping down my spine slowly. It wasn't fair, I thought. I certainly am not unattractive, and my training keeps me in shape, but Asami is so beautiful in a different way. She moves so fluidly. I may be able to perform bending moves and weave my way around hand-to-hand, but Asami carries that grace over into daily life. So many of the outfits hugged her body so perfectly that I found myself stuttering when she asked how she looked. In the end, she decided on a black and red (they called it "vermilion," but it certainly looked red to me) jacket and skirt combination. The jacket showed no skin, but gripped Asami's curves well enough that it left little to the imagination. Not that I imagined anything. Shut up. The skirt, on the other hand, showed off a fair amount of pale, muscular leg. Damn. That prickling feeling is coming back._

_After that, we decided to go out for noodles. Asami hadn't been to Jin Tao's noodle shop yet, so I figured this would be as good of a time as any, before the next world-shattering crisis came up. I won't go into boring details, but we talked and laughed for hours. Whenever Asami laughed, there was this certain way she threw her head back that I couldn't help but be transfixed by, and the way her curls fell back around her face when she leaned forward. She looked almost wild, with her red lips curled in a smirk. That's when that prickling hit my chest. I've never really looked at her like that before. Sure, I've noticed she was pretty. It's hard not to when you're feeling incredibly jealous. There's just something about the way the lanterns in the noodle shop caught her eyes that made me realize that she was really, truly beautiful. I wish I knew what that prickle was._

_I'm lying. To you, stupid book, and myself. I know what that prickle is. I felt it with Mako, and I'm feeling it again now. I've never really looked at a girl that way before, and it's weird: I'm perfectly okay with it. Will I ever do anything about it? I don't know... I've always felt Asami and I made a pretty good team, but I'm not sure how she'd feel if I talked to her. It just gives me butterflies thinking about it. Damn it, I just looked in a mirror and I'm blushing. You know what? Forget this. This is stupid._

Korra curled her fingers around the few pages she'd written and tore them out of the book. She glared at them angrily, as if they'd done something to personally offend her and made a swift gesture with her other hand, conjuring fire from the air. She hesitated, biting her lip. The fire reached up from her hand, trying hard to reach the pages which would surely make a good bit of fuel. Korra waved her hand with a sigh, dismissing the flames and tucking the pages back in the book.

"It's not like anyone ever has to know," she muttered, shoving the book into a drawer and slamming it shut. She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest, glancing out of her window at the grand view of Republic City. Lights glimmered and moved to and fro as Satomobiles and Cabbage Cars carried their owners where they needed to go. On one of the nearby buildings, Korra could see an immense advertisement for Future Industries, featuring Asami standing near a new model of car. She looked stunning as always, that very professional smile gracing her lips, though her golden eyes betrayed a bit of her mischief. Damn. There was that prickle again.


	2. A Night at the Opera

_Dear Diary,_

_Today was overall a pretty decent day. It started a tad bit earlier than I would have preferred, with pre-breakfast meditation. I'm fairly certain that my stomach grumbled so hard that the next three Avatars will feel its reverberations. So, when this diary full of wisdom is passed down to my successors, let me be the first to say - sorry, guys. Breakfast was pleasant, though there are definitely times I miss a good sausage early in the morning. Maybe one of these days I'll ask Asami to go to breakfast with me, and skip the meal with Tenzin and family._

_Tenzin actually let me have a little bit of fun today: in order to hone my airbending skills further, he told me to play airball with the kids. Things were going fairly smoothly until Ikki and Meelo, playing opposite Jinorah and myself, got into a disagreement over who had officially scored the most recent point. The tussle that resulted was extremely entertaining to say the least, but ended with Tenzin implying that my aggression was rubbing off on them. Thankfully, Pema came to my aide and convinced Tenzin that what I needed most was a day off. Truly, Pema is a much bigger hero than I will ever be._

_I met up with Mako, Bolin, and Asami downtown for lunch - an assortment of grilled meats and vegetables on sticks. This was definitely an improvement on the porridge that made up my breakfast, not that I'm complaining again, mind you. As we walked through the market, talking around mouthfuls of food, we discussed our plans for the day. Mako was, as always, the boring, responsible one - he was behind in filing reports, so was going to bow out as the afternoon turned to dusk. Bolin was anxious to see a new mover, something about a giant iguana parrot terrorizing Republic City. While this sounded like a good time to me, Asami just grimaced and mentioned that she had obtained tickets to an opera that night. Bolin continued trying to convince me that the mover would definitely be more interesting - and have much better screeching - than the opera, and I honestly agreed with him._

_I suppose it shows just how bad things are getting that I passed up on a chance to see what Bolin would later describe as "the mover to end all movers," and instead go to an opera - an art form that I have no real interest in whatsoever. What can I say? The disappointment in Asami's eyes when I indicated that the mover sounded like fun was just a bit too much for me. So, after Bolin headed off to the theater with Pabu chattering away on his shoulder, Asami declared that my usual garb was not going to suffice for a formal night out. We went to Air Temple Island to retrieve more formal wear for myself. Asami helped me get everything sorted in order, though she paused for a moment to touch my upper arm and raise her eyebrows, commenting on how much more muscular I'd become since my training had intensified. I melted, though I tried not to show it. I think she picked up on it, however, and patted my arm, grinning as she said that I shouldn't let it go to my head. She finished helping me get my hair in a bun, covered with a blue and white cloth, very fashionable in the Southern Water Tribe these days. She then held up a mirror for me, proudly beaming, "We'll make a socialite out of you yet." She then excused herself to get changed from her street clothes, as I straightened out my formal gear, consisting of deep blue pants and one of the few tops that I owned (light blue, for the record) that didn't have a few tears or patches from training and fighting._

_Of course, for all of the cleaning myself up that I did, I couldn't quite compare to what I saw when Asami stepped back into the room. I'd like to point out that I really have no problem with the way that I look - in fact, I'd say I look pretty damn good, but Asami has a certain knock out quality to her, especially when she dresses to the nines in a form fitting red silk dress with gold Fire Nation patterns mingled with dragons throughout, her hair in a loose bun. Apparently, I am terrible at reacting in anything resembling a non-chalant way, as Asami smirked, crossing the room, her heels clacking on the wood, and placed one finger on my lower jaw, closing my hanging mouth, "You're going to give me a big head. Besides, you look great yourself. None of the boys will be able to keep their eyes off of us." She hesitated when she said this, looking at me as if she expected me to say something, then shook her head when I remained stunned, "No worries, I'm your date for the night. No handsome titan of industry is going to sweep me off of my feet tonight." She slipped her arm around mine and we made our way to a waiting car - we were going all out tonight, it seemed, as Asami's driver was the one taking the wheel tonight._

_I wish I could tell you the first thing about the opera. There was a lot of high pitched singing that I couldn't quite make out the words to, and a few of the "titans of industry" that Asami had mentioned earlier tried to get her attention after the fat lady sang (who knew that was actually a thing?). She ignored them all, sweeping me away into her car, and back to her home, where we stripped off our shoes and formal clothes, opting to wear far more comfortable things for an evening of lounging. The entire night, that prickling feeling never left my body. It moved from my neck down my back to... well, you get the picture. Prickles. Lots of them. We talked for hours, sitting side by side in front of Asami's massive fireplace, sipping tea. I won't go into great detail - to be honest, I think we may have talked about both everything and nothing, I just know that I truly, deeply enjoyed her company. She invited me to stay for the night, showing me to one of the guest bedrooms, which was much larger than I was used to, with a much softer bed, as well. As we said our goodnights, she smiled that charming smile of hers, "Well, you were a lovely escort tonight, thank you," she aid, leaning in and kissing my cheek, which I suspect instantly began to glow._

_"Yeah," I stuttered, probably taking a full ten seconds to say that word alone, "I would love to do it again sometime."_

_It was Asami's turn to blush, which caught me completely off guard, and she reached over and took my hand. The left one, to be specific, and squeezed it gently, "Then I suppose we'll have to do just that." Perhaps I was underselling my day today... that prickling feeling never left me, even now, as I sit in Asami's guest bedroom, scrawling in this book. My left hand still feels a little warmer than my right, and I don't think that blush has gone away. I confess that I want to go down the hall and knock on Asami's door. For what? I don't know... I could even just talk to her for a few more hours, study the lines of her face, her eyes, her lips..._

Korra stopped and bit her lip, staring up at the closed door to her own room, lit very dimly by lantern light, she studied the carved dragons as though they were about to spring to life and give her advice. She closed her eyes and steeled herself, trying to focus as the prickling consumed her. She stood, moving towards the door, walking down the hall with as soft of footfalls as she could manage. Korra stood before Asami's bedroom doors, her heart beating the most urgent tattoo in her ears as she raised her hand and knocked softly.

"Who is it?" a very sleepy voice muttered from inside.

"It's me..."

A long pause, "Come in, Korra." And Korra did so.


End file.
